Prohibited acts; penalties; exceptions.

Checkout our iOS App for a better way to browser and research.

1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 383.170, a person who willfully removes without obtaining any required permit, mutilates, defaces, injures or destroys the cairn or grave of a native Indian:

(a) For a first offense, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

(b) For a second offense, is guilty of a category E felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.

(c) For a third or subsequent offense, is guilty of a category C felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.

In addition to any other penalty, the court shall order a person found guilty of any violation of this subsection to pay restitution for the cost to reinter with appropriate dignity all artifacts and human remains associated with the cairn or grave.

2. A person who fails to notify the Office of the discovery and location of an Indian burial site in violation of NRS 383.170 is guilty of a gross misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of $500 for the first offense, or by a fine of not more than $1,500 for a second or subsequent offense, and may be further punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 364 days.

3. A person who:

(a) Possesses any artifact or human remains taken from the cairn or grave of a native Indian on or after October 1, 1989, in a manner other than that authorized by NRS 383.170;

(b) Publicly displays or exhibits any of the human remains of a native Indian, except during a funeral ceremony; or

(c) Sells any artifact or human remains taken from the cairn or grave of a native Indian,

is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.

4. This section does not apply to:

(a) The possession or sale of an artifact:

(1) Discovered in or taken from a location other than the cairn or grave of a native Indian; or

(2) Removed from the cairn or grave of a native Indian by other than human action; or

(b) Action taken by a peace officer in the performance of his or her duties.

(Added to NRS by 1989, 574; A 1993, 929; 1995, 1271; 2013, 983; 2017, 3548; 2019, 585)


Download our app to see the most-to-date content.